Kartell pulls off an intriguing and innovative disappearing trick

An ethereal snowflake installation – the backdrop created by Japanese designer, Tokujin Yoshioka, for the launch of his “Invisibles” furniture - evoked a floaty unreality at Kartell’s flagship store. And that was before the cocktails began.

The transparent dining and occasional tables, sofas, armchairs and benches are made from a thick polycarbonate claimed by Kartell as a manufacturing “first”. This builds on the company’s design-led reputation for altering the perception of plastic as a “cheap” material - initially achieved with Philippe Starck’s La Marie chair (1998), the world’s first completely transparent chair formed from a single moulding of polycarbonate and the forerunner of the highly successful Ghost series.

Yoshioka’s use of the material melds physicality with transparency, pulling off the clever trick of combining functionality with evanescence. Sit on a chair and you feel comfortably supported yet its presence has been virtually eradicated. “In the last few years I’ve been thinking about a design that would include natural phenomena and invisible elements such as senses, wind and light,” he said. “New technologies make the impossible possible.”

Kartell also launched 15 new polycarbonate pieces by designers including Philippe Starck, Piero Lissoni and Ferruccio Laviani at Rho Fiera.